Parenthood
by Myrnidac
Summary: Sirius is Harry's Godfather. Therefore, it is only right that he should be the one to care for him. The night that he finds the Potter's house in shambles, he knew that his trust had been misplaced and that he must do all he can to atone for that mistake. Harry Potter AU
1. Discovery

"Wormtail?"  
Sirius Black peered around the empty abode, searching for some clue as to where his friend had disappeared to. The small house was calm, quiet, and suspiciously empty.

A cold fear gripped his chest. Had something happened to Peter? He barely ever left his home... let alone remove most of his belongings. Had he been discovered? Forced to run?

If the Death Eaters knew that Peter was secret keeper... they were sure to find him. It would be very easy to extract the information they needed. Dumbledore, the Potters, and himself had been counting on Peter going unsuspected, being the weak little thing that he was. They had very meagre plans for what happened if the enemy figured it out...

If Wormtail wanted to hide, he would be difficult to find. That much was calming. Still, it also meant that Sirius wouldn't be able to find him.

That left only one option. He would go pay a visit to his beloved friends.

The motorcycle's engine roared savagely in his ears, the cold dampness of cloud soaking his hair and clothes. God, Sirius loved riding. The freedom of it eased the knot of worry in his chest, even just a little. Light was shining through the cloud and Sirius knew he would emerge into open air within a few moments.  
What presented itself to him made his blood run cold. Warm lights blazed from every house in the frozen little town of Godric's Hollow, each home a beacon of comfort in the unforgiving winter frost. All but one.

Sirius revved his engine and soared down into the driveway of the darkened Potter's home, relying on his dis-illusion charm to keep him hidden from prying muggle eyes.  
The door wobbled, splintered on its hinges and the window of the living room was blasted in. Sirius tore into the house, terror pumping through his veins like fire, sharpening his senses. _Please, be alright,_ he silently begged whoever may be listening.

He skidded into the living room, stopping so suddenly he grabbed the door frame to keep from toppling.  
There, slumped over the back of the couch, was James Potter as limp and lifeless as a rag doll.

Sirius let out a soft gasp, the fire in his veins turned to ice. He stumbled over to his best friend, grasping his shoulder in a far less gentle manner than he would have otherwise. The lack of response sent horror and a terrible grief to shock his very bones.  
"Prongs?" he stuttered feebly, shaking his friend, gazing into the empty face, the dark, unseeing eyes. "James?" A baby's gurgling cry echoed from the upstairs bedrooms and tore Sirius back into lucidity.

 _Harry._

He broke into a clumsy sprint once more, fueled by the soft whimpering of that baby boy. He found the child's bedroom, almost tripping over the small, familiar toy broomstick laying discarded in the corridor. Once more, the threshold of the room served to support his weight as what he saw weakened his legs.

Lily lay sprawled at the base of the small cot, her wild red hair spread around her like a halo of flame, her mouth agape in a silent, eternal plea.

Harry's crying was growing softer, more desperate, and Sirius responded with all the instinct of the Godfather within him. He rushed to the side of the child's cot, pulling the bleeding, gurgling infant into his arms and drawing his wand. He immediately began to work at the gushing slash upon the baby's forehead, but nothing he tried seem to stem the flow. Murmuring soothing words, the effect likely lost to the anguish in his voice, Sirius leaned down once more into the crib, pulling a soft blanket out and pressing it firmly to little Harry's head, stemming the flow of blood.

With Harry safe in his arms, Sirius slid down the cot and onto the floor. Lily's emerald eyes stared, unseeing, at a spot on the ceiling. Little Harry began to cry in earnest and Sirius pressed the boy's face to his shoulder, shielding him from the sight of his dead mother.

And Sirius' cries joined Harry's, the tormented howl of the man whom had lost his family.

...

It must have been only a few moments before another joined him in the house, but to Sirius, it felt like an eternity. Lost, trapped under the eyes of a guarding mother and held prisoner by the wailing of an innocent child, he began to crumble in on himself, his howls devolving to whimpers and desperate sobs. Yet, when the purposeful, heavy footsteps up the hall reached his ears, he only grasped the child tighter, dragging himself to his feet and pulling his wand on the intruder.

The enormous form filled the entire doorway and had to squeeze himself through it to get in, the newcomer's face riddled with terror to rival that of Sirius. Hagrid tensed at the sight of Sirius, a flash of something dangerous flitting across his features, but gone the second he recognized the best friend of the victims.

"Sirius, 's 'Arry okay?"

"I don't know. I.. Wormtail must have..." Realization dawned on Sirius and, along with it, a tidal wave of fury suffocated his thoughts. _Peter._ He must have told. It was the only way they could have found out.

"Dumbledore says Pe'er was with You-Know-Who fer a while now," Hagrid spoke rigidly, his voice cracking with every syllable and leaning over as if to extract Harry from Sirius.

Sirius let him, too consumed in his own shock to argue. _This whole time... But, I had been certain... Remus..._

His arm flung out, seeking to hit something, to destroy something that no one would miss, to rid the world of some useless object as if it could be exchanged for the lives of James and Lily without the loss and the heartbreak. His elbow collided with a glass baby-bottle and shattered it, sending glass shards into the walls and carpet. But this did nothing. Hell, he would give himself up to bring them back, he would gladly take his own life to atone for his mistakes. All this time, he had thought Remus to be the spy, gone so far as to withhold the Potter's location from him. He was wrong, it was Peter. And now Lily and James were dead, Harry was parentless, Sirius stood soaked in the blood of a child and his own grief-stricken tears.

As the smash rang into silence, Hagrid's heaving sobs were now the only sound in the still night, as if nature itself had resigned in respect to the loss of such a great witch and wizard. Even Harry had fallen silent, and Sirius glanced over to see that the child was watching Hagrid with intense curiosity, apparently unable to decide what to make of the monstrously sized man.

Sirius knew what he must do. He owed this much to James, to Lily, to Harry. Slowly, he reached out to peel the boy out of Hagrid's shuddering arms, but was surprised when the half-giant pulled away.

"'E's got ta go ta his Aunt's place, Dumbledore's orders," Hagrid explained, stroking the tufty hair on the boy's head.

The boiling mess in his stomach rumbled further and Sirius felt ready to explode. Dumbledore had no right to decide the boy's fate. Sirius was his godfather and that meant that the boy was his charge now. "Don't be ridiculous," growled Sirius, reaching again, with more determination, to grab Harry. Yet Hagrid avoided him once more. "I'm his godfather, I have to care for him!"

"I'm sorry, Sirius!" Hagrid spluttered, heaving the boy out of reach. "But Dumbledore says 'e has ta go, so 'e has ta-" He froze, eyes transfixed on the wand that was now pointed between his eyes. "Sirius, don' do it."

"Give me the boy, Hagrid," Sirius snarled, pointing his wand as threateningly as he could manage. He needed to do this. He had been the one to plant the suggestion of Peter as secret-keeper. He had be the one who shut Remus away. He had been the one who failed to get here in time to protect his friends. Now he was the one that would clean up the mess and make sure that Harry was safe.

"I can'!" Hagrid rumbled, sounding both worried and resolute.

"Stupefy!"

The curse hit Hagrid square between the eyebrows and sent him stumbling backwards a few steps, but his giant blood protected him for the most part. But that falter was all Sirius needed, he lunged at Hagrid with the ferocity of a dog, whose form he spent so much time in, protecting its pup. He snatched a now crying Harry from his arms and sped to the door, slamming it shut behind him and muttering an incantation that would strengthen the wood. Once it was complete, he murmured soothing words to Harry, trying to silence the frightened wails.

The gleam of polished wood caught his eye.

Hagrid thumped into the door, calling for Sirius.

Sirius snatched the toy broomstick off the ground and he ran.


	2. Apologies

Sirius did not dare apparate with Harry, he did not know how such a traumatic journey would affect the boy's undeveloped body. Instead, he climbed aboard his motorcycle and sped off into the sky, little Harry clutching to the front of his jacket and whimpering softly, frightened by the loud noise and great height. The heavy weight in his chest seemed to grow denser with every mile they traveled, with every town put between them and Lily and James. Sirius rode towards the only place that both he and the boy would be safe and prayed that his remaining friend was unharmed. Unharmed and in a mood to forgive.

He didn't know how long the pair flew, only that, at some point, Harry had fallen asleep huddled in his Godfather's jacket, shielded from the biting wind and snoring his exhaustion away. While the child slept, Sirius wept.

He couldn't stop. Couldn't stop the regret dripping from his eyes, the misery heaving his chest, nor the terrified trembling that raked at every fiber of his being. It was exhausting torment, yet he could not rest. They deserved every ounce of strife he suffered for them.

Down below, cities and towns fell away into dense woodland pocketed with grassy fields. They were nearing their destination.

Sirius wiped his eyes to clear his vision and descended so that they puttered just above the canopy. He could see a thin plume of chimney smoke billowing slightly west of them and veered towards it, landing the bike with a spray of dirt and grass blades.

"Harry," he croaked, throat raw with exhaustion. He gently pet the sleeping boy to rouse him from his slumber.

Tired eyes riddled with sleep blinked up at him, accompanied by a squeaky yawn. "Uhm?" The boy perked up and looked around, suddenly eager and apparently wide awake. Sirius thought he must have recognized the glade after previous visits to Remus.

"I need you to..." his voice broke and Sirius coughed a few times to clear it, suddenly aware of how very tired he was. "To stay here. Just for a minute, okay? Can you do that for me?"

But Harry was already struggling to find a way off the bike. He fumbled with his unsteady feet and Sirius had to catch him when he nearly slipped. Slowly, he lowered the boy to the ground and watched him stumble unsteadily off to a cluster of glittering mushrooms and start banging them together, giggling at the gentle, bell-like ringing every-time they collided.

Sirius left him entertained, stumbling halfheartedly to Lupin's door. Before he even had the chance to knock, the door swung inwards on un-oiled hinges, revealing the concerned and yet bewildered expression of Remus Lupin. Without hesitation, Sirius dragged his remaining friend into a despairing embrace.

...

Remus lifted his head from his hands, glancing over his shoulder at Sirius's sleeping form. He sat on the floor of his humble living room, back resting against the couch on which his friend slept with the child he had supposedly 'rescued'.

He pawed at his itching eyes, inhaling deeply. Sirius had appeared at his doorstep, apologizing profusely for deeds that Remus did not find out about until a good ten minutes into their meeting. He was all worked up, ranting about misplaced trust and betrayal of friendship. Remus had been more frightened than confused at first, worrying for the spark of instability in Sirius's eyes and the unbalanced way in which he moved. It wasn't until Sirius choked through his tale of the happenings several hours previously that he understood.

And yet, well, none of it seemed real.

Lily and James had always been a part of his world, there since his early childhood days. To have them apart from the world was unthinkable. Within the coiling depths of his subconscious, the werewolf still expected to see his friends strolling up to his front door, coming to run with him under the influential light of the full moon. He still expected to receive his letter for the month regarding the antics of everyday, suburban life. He could see them Christmas day, standing hand in hand and surrounded by adoring friends. He could clearly picture Jame's mischievous smile when he would tell some awful joke. He could describe in full detail Lily's stern look, with its underlying fondness, when Sirius and her husband came home, drunk and laughing at some entertaining recollection of their school years, with Remus keeping both of them from crashing into some mirror or tripping over the stairs.

He could not see them as Sirius had described, limp and lifeless.

With a heavy sigh, he allowed his head to loll back onto Sirius's thigh, gazing at a moth perched on his ceiling. Little Harry stirred behind him, muttering something incoherent

"Mumumum," he called, lifting his head to search the room. His large eyes, wet with sleep and red around the rims, fixed on Remus and he gurgled, stretching an arm to swat at his uncle's face. Remus gently took the boy's hand to protect himself from have an eye swiped out and nosed him gently on the forehead, bringing forth a complaining giggle.  
Harry seemed eager to be off the couch, using Remus as a climbing frame to get himself to the floor. Remus held back assistance until it seemed the complexity of climbing was going to bring forth too much frustration and he helped the child to the ground.

Eagerly, Harry began crawling off, constantly with calls of "Mumumum," and "Daaaa."

It wasn't long before the calls grew panicked.

Harry began to cry.

Heart in his throat, Remus stalked off to attempt to sooth the child.

...

Morning found Remus slumped in the corner of his kitchen, his toes under vicious attack from a one-year-old infant. He stirred and strained to lift his eyelids, which seemed to weigh at least thrice their usual burden. Harry sat with his legs sprawled to either side while he battered and swatted at the lower leg of his uncle. Remus lifted his head from against the unforgiving kitchen cupboard, suddenly aware of the contorted, uncomfortable angle of his body. His stiffed muscles groaned their complaints and he stretched painfully to ease them.

Harry had apparently become bored with his uncle in waking and had crawled off eagerly to find something else worth his attention.

Remus rubbed the hair from his face and wandered into the living room, intent on waking Sirius and discussing how they were going to deal with the kidnapped boy.

Only he found it empty. All that remained to indicate Sirius had ever been there was a torn sheet of paper, scrawled handwriting glaring innocently up at Remus.


	3. Hunting

_Dumbledore is looking for me, he still thinks I have Harry. I won't let Harry be taken away, he doesn't deserve a life with the muggles. Neither Lilly or James would want him to go to those horrible people._  
 _I'll contact you when I find somewhere safe._  
 _Thank you, Moony._

Remus crumpled the note, breathing deeply.

It seemed that everything was a drama. He had heard of the Dursleys, how Lilly's sister had refused any connection to her whatsoever. But Horrible? Who was to say that they were horrible? Remus hadn't met them in person and knew nothing but the stories from Lily's school years. But that had been so long ago, surely a child's fear of an unknown world could be suppressed by the logic of an adult?

And then there was Dumbledore... The Headmaster probably sought to make certain that Harry was healthy, that he hadn't been cursed or tracked or anything of the like. The fact of the matter was... Remus hadn't actually checked the boy for such things, yet.

Calling for Harry, Remus wound his way into the kitchen, checking under tables and in cupboards, only to find Harry nestled in a pile of paper bags that he had evidently pulled out of the kitchen drawer. The boy's eyes lit up in a cheeky giggle and he pulled a bag over his face, apparently convinced that this was considered hiding. Remus couldn't help the hint of a smile that relaxed his features and he knelt by Harry, pulling his wand from his jacket and waving it over the boy while muttering various incantations that would (hopefully) reveal any spells placed on the child.

Nothing reacted and Remus released a sigh of relief that he hadn't known he was holding, loosening muscles that he hadn't even realized were tensed in the first place. Harry peeked out from under the bag, quickly concealing his face once more when he met his uncle's eyes. His failure to suppress countless giggles only made Remus' smile widen, even if it never quite reached his eyes.

Remus stood, leaving Harry to his own devices (no matter how mischievous they may be). He risked a cautious glance through his blinds on the way to the living room and saw no watchers, but that was not to say they were not out there. Despite his reasoning, Remus was bothered by Sirius' letter. If Dumbledore wanted to find Harry, why had he not apparated directly to Remus? It did not take much brainpower to reason that Sirius would turn to Remus in such a time of crisis...

The thought struck him like a stone to the stomach. Had Sirius gone to intercept Dumbledore? Sirius was traumatized, unstable even, and as much as Remus wished otherwise, he was likely bordering the beyond of logical reason. Remus glanced once more at the kitchen threshold, beyond which Harry lay, and considered going after his friend.  
Steeling himself, Remus decided, and strode back towards the kitchen and the giggling child.

...

Sirius balled his fists at his sides, infuriated by the nervous woman across the desk from him. The muggle real-estate agent was so difficult to communicate his needs to without referring to magic, and his increasing temper helped none.

"I'm sorry sir, but I'm just not sure what you mean when you say you need a property that is 'well hidden'. If you want seclusion, I can offer you vast spaces of farmland that would be brilliant for a frugal life. If it's small you want, we have many smaller units for sale also. If-"

"No!" Sirius snapped, resting his hands on the table once more. He scored his mind for some way of describing a house with properties to easily hide it from magic. But what were those properties? Sirius didn't know the specifics, he just knew the result.  
With a brief apology to the desk-girl, he stormed out of the office.

Out on the busy London street, Sirius breathed the air deeply in an attempt to clear his head. With all the car exhaust fumes permeating the air, it didn't work. Frustrated even further, Sirius turned and began walking, silent and brooding.

At least, until he collided with a short, buck-toothed man.

At first Sirius disregarded the incident as a result of his own distracted-ness, murmuring an empty apology while he waited for the man to pass. His eye was caught, however, when the man did not move on, but shuffled back a few steps, his hands recoiling up under his chin in fright. Sirius raised his eyes to study the face properly and was promptly shocked by what he found.

"Wormtail," he sneered.

Sirius' wand was out before Peter had time to begin his frantic excuses. Wild-eyed and terrified, Peter's cries of mercy fell on deaf ears. Sirius's insides twisted and boiled. Here was the man that had condemned his best friends to their premature deaths. Here was the man who had left his nephew parentless. Here was the man that had been responsible for tearing up those that Sirius had called family.

Sirius raised his wand as Peter fumbled for his own.

And he struck.

 **AN: Sorry that this one is so short. The transition between this and the next chapter just didn't seem to work well enough as two paragraphs. The next one should be up quite soon, though. Hopefully today.**


	4. Catastrophe

Remus arrived at the catastrophic scene just as muggle ambulances rounded the block corner. He had been flying overhead on his broom, seeking the telltale residue of Sirius's motorcycle when he had seen the scorched crater down below, a foul stench permeating the area and bodies laying scattered over concrete. Immediately, he had soared down to help.

Upon arrival, with Harry strapped securely to his back, Remus rushed to the aid of several muggles attempting to lift a particularly heavy chunk of sidewalk from an out-cold teenager. With his wand concealed in his sleeve, Remus murmured, "Wingardium Leviosa," and maneuvered the concrete with the efforts of the muggles.  
He could do nothing but turn away from the horrific sight. The boy's legs and lower torso were all but flat, the gore and blood caked on the concrete tearing away from him with a sickening sound.

He stumbled away from the sight, along with several other green-faced people. A quick glance back at Harry showed that he was growing uneasy, even if his vision was limited mostly to the back of Remus's head.

A flash of red caught his attention.

It was instant, light, only noticed because he so happened to be facing the side street's entrance at the time, yet it was familiar in a way that turned Remus's blood to ice. A stunning spell.

He hurried to the side street, his stomach lurching at the thought of wizard work behind such devastation. There could only be one that would cause such carnage, one that would not be named. If there was a fight, Remus would play his part.

A light tapping on his shoulder made him stop. Remus turned his head to meet the watery eyes of a frightened Harry, who had started to blubber, but his uncertainty did not dare allow him to wail. Remus unwound the fabric from his torso and wrapped Harry in it. He dashed towards a clutter of dustbins outside the back door of a building and slid the child behind them.

Harry protested, threatening to cry, but Remus hushed him quickly with silencing spell. Guilt wrenched his chest when the child started to panic at his lack of voice and mobility, his body bound by fabric and his throat by magic, but Remus knew that he would be safe, for a short time at the least.  
Quickly, he moved towards the sounds of a struggle.

Only, what he found was no dark lord, nor death eaters of any number, but Sirius, mid-cast as he took a stunning spell to the stomach.

Remus cursed and pushed himself into the fray, drawing the attention of the brown-clad ministry aurors assailing his friend. "Woah!" he yelled, opening his hands above his head when they turned their wands on him, keeping his own wand pointed to the sky between two fingers, nonthreatening and useless.

The aurors glanced amoung each other, clearly unsure of the unexpected arrival. Remus was somewhat shocked by their numbers, there had to be at least six of them, all of their power obviously designed for Sirius's capture. But, surely, Sirius's wouldn't have caused the scene Remus had left behind... would he?  
One auror pushed through the rest and Remus recognized Mad-Eye Moody, looking tense and furious.

"Remus!" Called the gruff auror. "Explain yourself! You wouldn't have anything to do with this, would you?" He gestured harshly towards the stunned Sirius with his wand.

So, Remus explained how he had been searching for Sirius and come across the wreckage in the street, then sensed the struggle in the small side street. The aurors all listened intently, but none moved their wands from where they remained trained on Remus and the fallen Sirius.

"Hmph," Moody grunted and Remus noted that the auror's magical eye now remained fixed on the scene out in the street, where muggles were trying desperately to recover their brethren from the wreckage. "What proof do you have of this story?" He practically spat the latter word and Remus found himself cursing Moody's paranoia not for the first time.

Remus kept his wand pinched between his first and middle fingers, keeping it's point to the sky as he slowly lowered it to the ground. Moody watched, a muscle twitching on his brow. Once the wand was on the ground, Remus straightened again and kicked his beloved tool towards the aurors as gently as he could. "Check it," he said.

Moody picked up the wand and muttered under his breath. A dim light flickered from the wand and bounced harmlessly off the wall. Moody visibly relaxed, if only a little.

"A silencing spell," he stated plainly and the other aurors all lowered their wands. "And yet..." Remus tensed. "What were you doing with a silencing spell, Remus?"

While he seemed less suspicious, Moody was never one to leave rocks unturned. Should Remus tell him about Harry? Perhaps he should and Moody could carry news back to Dumbledore that the boy was healthy. But then, Sirius had obviously kidnapped Harry and the two were in no position to add to their own suspicion.

No, it was too plain. They new Sirius had the boy. He had told them he had been looking for Sirius. Any lie that he could think up on the spot would be unravelled under Moody's questioning.

"A child, I used it to hush a child."

"Hmph." Moody eyed the werewolf for a few long moments, his gaze almost knowing. Remus resisted to fidget, uncomfortable under the stare of both Moody and his magic eye.

His magic eye...

Oh no.

Remus dared not speak. Not until Moody had made his decision. The silence dragged on and it seemed even some of the other aurors were getting uncomfortable.

Suddenly, Moody's eyes flickered away, following something beyond the far wall. "I think you had best be going, Remus."

One of the other aurors stepped forward, a tall woman with dark braided hair and narrow, calculating eyes. "Mad-Eye! You can't just let him go! He's a suspect in all of this!"

"Pipe down, Hannah! Remus Lupin is the last person to be out attacking people in the street in broad daylight."

The addition of those last few words made Remus frown deeply, but he held his tongue.

"Now go, Lad. go and take your child with you," Moody instructed in a tone that refused argument, handing Remus's wand back to it's owner. The other aurors all seemed to be murmuring among each other, obviously doubting their leader's judgement.

Remus hesitated, his thoughts turning to Sirius, who was now beginning to stir. He risked a few more words to Moody. "You'll be of the correct judgement, won't you?"

"When have I not?"

With a last nod at his fellow order member, Remus whirled around and dashed off, scooping the still silent Harry from his hiding place as he went. As he fled away from the wreckage and around the street corner, he was sure that he caught a glimpse of a man with a pointed hat and half-moon spectacles speeding down the street.


End file.
